Very Cool DW video

[whirlykenmore78]

This is a Hobart AM-15 Select that was "pimped" as our webmaster may put it with a window and interior lights. The wash action in this machine is very intense, amazing for an enegy star machine. But what else would you expect from the folks who build the best dishwashers.
enjoy, Nick

 

[DirectDriveDave]

Wow, great video and WOW do those spray arms spin fast!!

 

[qualin]

Does Hobart even make dishwashers for the consumer market anymore?

 

[whirlykenmore78]

@DirectDriveDave

Yeah this is one hell of a dishwasher. Those arms throw a hell of a lot of water and really get moving. I have it's predecessor the AM-14 in the restaurant where I am the Sous Chef and that DW is a TANK. Very thorough cleaning and sanitizing with minimal problems. When it comes to dishwashers there is Hobart and there is everyone else. The rest should take notice! The same holds true for mixers,slicers and meat grinders.
Nick

 

[DirectDriveDave]

Our church has a dishwasher kind of like that and I have been wanting to make a video of it for a while, if they will allow it.

 

[jerrod6]

I think Hobart is out of the consumer DW line. They left when they sold the KA brand name to Whirlpool in the early 1990's. Since then KA DW  are just  enhanced Whilrpool DW.  So if you want this machine it will be sold commercially and not for regular home owners.   I don't even know if you can purchase it for a regular home configuration.  Pausing to heat the rinse water to 190F?   Yeah ...you won't find this at any big box store or any other store unless you are in a commercial business environment or your kitchen contractor can grease the skids for you.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

@jerrod6

You are exactly right that Hobart is out of the consumer DW business. To correct this happened in 1986 when the sale of the KA line to Whirlpool took place. WP contiued building DW's based on the Hobart design for several years after this. The first true Whirlpool KA Dishwashers appeared in the late 90's with the introduction of the SS interior KA's using the 1/3hp WP wash system amd Kenmore UltraWash like racks.
Nick

 

[jerrod6]

Nick thanks for correcting my dates.  I only know that after I bought my house in 1995 I wanted to replace the KA Dw it came with. Not sure of the model but it was one of the first ones with the 4 way hydro sweep arms.  It cleaned well but was kind of loud and didn't hold much, so I began looking for a new DW. I took my time(over several months looking)  Since I grew up with KA I first looked at them but didn't like what I saw because the entire thing had been redesigned and in my opinion the whole thing was cheapened compared to the former models.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Most likely

You had a Hobart built KD-15 series machine. While not quiet and rather small inside these were battle tanks. The 4-way Hydro sweep arms and industrial pump and motor were the same as used in Hobart undercounter dishmachines. This design or some form of it was used in all KitchenAid and Hobart undercounter DW's through the 80's.

 

[jerrod6]

Yes it had the 4 way hydro sweep.  Growing up my aunt had a KA with the single blue(cast iron?) wash arm.  Later in 1971 my parents bought a KA superba with the 4 way hydro sweep.  When I moved to my own apartment it had a newer version of this same machine but still had the hydro sweep.  In the early 1990's the house I bought had a KA and it had the hydro sweep.  Then In 1995  this current house  I bought had an older version than my previous house.  I guess what I noticed was that this last one had different racking than the previous and it just didn't hold as much, plus the previous one had a separate spray arm for the top rack so the performance was a bit better.  This model was the basic model so perhaps it didn't have the same amount of sound  insulation as the others.  I knew  these were tanks and this was what I was looking for in a new machine but I just couldn't find that build anymore..not even in the new  KA of the mid  to late 1990's.  After doing research I ended up buying a Miele G885 which I kept until a 2006 kitchen remodel and then replaced that with a G2830. 

 

What I really wish was that I had kept my parents KA DW from 1971.  That Dw cleaned very well and was very fast doing a prewash, rinse, main wash and 3 after rinses in less than 22 minutes. Of course it also used 15 1/2 gallons of water to do this.  I did keep the owners manual but I allowed the DW to be sold with my parents house when they died and the new owners promptly discarded the machine even though it was still working some 30 years after being installed.  After finding this forum I realize I should have kept that machine.